he spent part of the afternoon at fema headquarters. monitoring the preparations for the arrival of sandy. >> this is a serious and big storm. and my first message is to all people across the eastern seaboard, mid-atlantic, going north, that you need to take this very seriously. >> nbc's mike viquiera, live at the white house, we just heard from the president and fema, what else did he have to say? >> well it was interesting, the president decided to did to fema headquarters, a mile south of here from the white house, he said he wanted to give encouragement to the fema workers and get details. and he did, we listened in here, the white house, not only did he make the statement where the prosecute he is was present. but he had a 21-minute briefing. a lot of questions for officials there. he had a state-by-state briefing. among the things he heard, they're expecting a six to 11-foot storm surge in certain areas above ground level. this wind field is going to be felt as far west as the ohio valley. the president particularly concerned abou